Machine for boxing toothpicks.



No. 869,993. PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907. s. s. & W. W. TAINTER. & G. P. STANLEY.

MACHINE FOR BOXING TOOTHPICKS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. 1907.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET l! /7 A? /7 No. 869,993. PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907. s. s. & w. w. TAINTBR & 9. P. STANLEY.

MACHINE FOR BOXING TOOTHPIOKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

ERS 4:0,, WASHINGTON, n. c.

UETTEE STATES PATENT oEEroE.

SIMON S. TAINTER, WILLIS W. TAINTER, AND GEORGE P. STANLEY, OF DIXFIELE, MAINE.

MACHINE FOR BOXING TOOTHPIGKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

Application filed March 4:. 1907. Serial No. 360,341.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SIMON S. TAINTER, WILLIS W. TAINTER, and GEORGE I. STANLEY, citizens of the United States, residing at Dixfield, in the county of Oxford, State of Maine, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Boxing Toothpicks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improvement in machines for boxing wooden tooth picks and other articles of similar shape.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine for receiving the picks from the tumbling apparatus in which they are finished and delivering them to the boxes in which they are to be put up for sale It is important that mechanism shall be provided for measuring or furnishing a uniform quantity of picks for each box and that the picks shall be delivered to the box in orderly arrangement; that is, that they shall all be laid parallel with each other." It is preferable also that they should be delivered to the measuring mechanism in this orderly arrangement and for that purpose it is important to provide intermediate mechanism between the tumbling apparatus from which the picks are received and the measuring mechanism which shall arrange the picks in the orderly manner above described.

The present invention relates more particularly to the intermediate mechanism between the tumbling apparatus and the measuring device for straightening out the tooth picks and feeding them to the measuring mechanism.

In describing the invention, we shall for conven- Sence refer to the machine as a machine forboxingtooth picks and refer to the articles which it handles as tooth picks, although it is to be understood that the invention and machine are adapted for handling other small articles of similar character or form.

The invention will now be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of the specification.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a combined feeding and measuring machine for receiving the picks from the tumbling apparatus, (the tumbling apparatus being not here shown), and delivering them to the boxes, the measuring apparatus not being shown in complete detail as it forms the subject of another application. Fig. 2 is a detail plan of the feed wheel or c'onveyer which delivers the picks to the measuring device. Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings,the tooth picks will first be delivered either direct from the tumbling mechanwhich communicates with a rotary cylinder 2 which is preferably mounted so as to incline slightly downwards toward the exit end. The picks 7 pass out of an orifice 3 at the exit end and fall onto an inclined slide or chute 4 down which they pass and drop into the buckets 5 mounted on the rotary wheel 6. The wheel 6 carrying the buckets 5 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, guards 8 being provided as will be more particularly hereinafter described whereby the tooth picks are kept in the buckets until the feed wheel has rotated far enough to bring the filled buckets above the slatted chute 9, whence they drop from the bucket into the slatted chute and thence pass down to the measuring mechanism A and thence into the box 11.

The rotary cylinder 2 is j ournaled at one end in bearings formed by flange 11 at the lower end of the hopper 1 and is journaled at the other end in bearings 12, the bearings 12 being formed as a flange to the end cover 13 in which is the orifice 3 which forms the outlet for the tooth picks from the cylinder 2. The cylinder 2 may be given rotation by any suitable means, the mechanism shown consisting of a sprocket chain 14 which engages with sprocket teeth 15 on the periphery of the cylinder. As this cylinder is of considerable weight, it should be supported intermediate its ends. The means shown consists of grooved anti-friction pulleys or wheels '16 which engage with circumferential ribs 17 on the periphery of the cylinder. These grooved wheels or pulleys serve to support and to steady the cylinder and to prevent vibration of the cylinder. There should preferably be three or more pulleys to engage with each rib 17 so that there may be contact at three or more points.

In order to regulate the size of the opening 3 through which the tooth picks pass out of the cylinder, an adjustable ball valve 18 is employed which is mounted on an arm 19, said arm being adjust-ably mounted in a standard 20, whereby the arm may be moved horizontally to move the ball valve 18 in either direction to vary the amount of obstruction that it gives to the opening 3. The arm 19 may be held in its adjusted position by the clamping screw 21.

The chute 4 is preferably made as a trough or V- shap'ed in cross-section and placed at an inclination so that the tooth picks willreadily slide down, and its lower end is so located that it will discharge the picks into the buckets 5. These buckets are somewhat V- shaped in cross-section, one side 5 of the bucket being radial to the axis of the wheel or nearly so, and the other side 5 being at an angle to the radius, the inclined side being on the forward or advance side of the bucket.

The guards S are curvilinear plates which are secured to the inner faces of the fixed side plates 22. The upper ends begin at a point a little beyond the point ism or in any convenient way into hopper or chute 1 i where the chute 4 discharges the tooth picks into the buckets and they extend around far enough to prevent the picks from falling out of the bucket until they arrive over the slatted chute 9. These plates are, therefore, curved longitudinally to follow the contour. of the periphery of the wheel, but are preferably flat in crosssection where they extend over the tops of the buckets and form covers for the ends of the tooth. picks. Preferably the plates 8 on opposite sides do not meet each other, there being a space between them, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the body portion of the tooth picks will be exposed in order that the operator may have access to them if desired during the rotation. There is just sufficient clearance between the plates 8 and the tops of the buckets so not to interfere with the movements of the buckets as the wheel rotates. The fixed side plates 22 are spaced a distance apart sufficient to allow the tooth picks to lie lengthwise in the buckets between the side plates, there being suflicient clearance between the ends of the buckets and the fixed side plates to allow free rotation of the feed wheel and buckets without grazing the side plates 22. The upper ends 23 of the guards 8 engage any surplus or overthrow of the picks 7 as shown in Fig. 1 and will throw them outside so that after the bucket begins to pass under the guards 8, each bucket will be no more than level full. Preferably these upper ends 23 are inclined; that is, formed diagonal with relation to the sides of the guards, as in that way they will better act as a scoop to throw off the surplus tooth picks without so much liability of bunching them or disarranging those remaining in the bucket as would be likely to be the case if the guards were made with square ends.

The wheel 6 is mounted on shaft 24 which is driven in any suitable manner to rotate the wheel at the required speed. The chute 9, to which the picks are delivered from the buckets on the feed wheel, is preferably provided with a number of inclined slats 25, 26, which project inward and downwardly from opposite sides of the chute, the slats on one side being arranged in staggered relation to the slats on the other side and the lower ends lapping slightly past each other so that the picks will have a zigzag course in passing down between the slats. The slats on one side of the chute,

as for instance the slats 26, are preferably pivoted intermediate their'ends as at 27, the outer ends being pivoted to a vertically vibratory rod 28 so that the slats may be turned on the pivots as the slats of a blind are operated. The rod 28 is connected with an cecentric 29 mounted on a shaft 30 so that as the shaft 30 revolves the slats 26 are given a vibratory movement which aids in preventing clogging the tooth picks in the chute. This, however, forms the subject matter of another application filed by us, and is not specifically claimed in this application. Shaft 30 may be driven in any suitable manner. The measuring device A to which the tooth picks are delivered from the chute 9 will not be described in detail becausethat forms the subject matter of another application filed by Simon S. Tainter in the United States Patent Office on January 28, 1907, Serial No. 354,490. Briefly described, it comprises a tooth pick passage between the ribs 33, 34, transversely across which a shut off 35 is intermittently moved to shut off the supply of picks. A movable plate 36 is carried on a shaft 37 which is connected with a rod 38, said rod 38 being connected at its upper end with an eccentric 39 driven by shaft 31 which actuates the shaft 37 in such manner as to move the shaft 37 up and down, and the shaft 37 moves alternately in guide Ways 40, 41, passing from one verticalway to the other through transverse ways in such manner that when the shaft 37 is at the upper end of its stroke, the plate 36 will be projected across the tooth pick passage 42 formed by the ribs 33, 34, beneath the cut off plate 35, and the cut off plate 35 will then be withdrawn so that the tooth picks may be seated on the plate 36 and the downward movement of the shaft 37 will carry down the plate 36 and the supported mass of tooth picks and at the lower end of the stroke the shaft 37 will be moved back fromthe guide ways 41 into guide ways 40 withdrawing the plate 36 from" the tooth pick passage so that the tooth picks will fall into the box 11. The feed wheel 6 and buckets carried thereon may rotate continuously be cause the cut-off 35 will control the passage of the tooth picks into the measuring passage 42, and there is, therefore, no necessity for the feed wheel to have an inter mittent movement.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyor having upon its periphery a series of troughshaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, guards at each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from said side guards circumferentially inward toward each other and covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyerto nearly the lowest point in the rotation of the convey'er.

In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, rnechanism for delivering tooth picks to the buckets on the conveyer, a chute to which the picks are delivered from the conveyer buckets after the bucket has passed through a portion of its circular path of movement from the mechanism which feeds the picks to the conveyer, guards at each side of the buckets independent. thereof, cover guards ex tending from each of said side guards toward each other covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to the point of discharge from the buckets into the chute beneath the conveyer.

3. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, mechanism for delivering tooth picks to the buckets on the conveyer, guards at each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from each of said side guards toward each other covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to the point of discharge of the buckets, said covers having their upper ends formed diagonal with relation to the sides of the guards.

4. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyor having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, mechanism for delivering tooth picks to the buckets on the conveyer, guards on each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from each of said side guards toward each other covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof. said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to the point of discharge from the buckets, said covers having their upper ends formed diagonal with relation to the sides of the guards and sloping inwardly.

5. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, mechanism for delivering tooth picks to the buckets on the conveyer, guards on each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from each of said side guards toward each other covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to the point of discharge from the buckets, said covers having their upper ends formed diagonal with relation to the sides of the guards, the inner edges of said cover guards being spaced apart from each other.

6. In a machine for boxing tooth picks. a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, guards on each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from said side guards circumferentially inward toward each other and covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to nearly the lowest point in the rotation of the conveyer. the said buckets being in length at least as great as the length of the tooth picks whereby the tooth picks may lie parallel with each other in said buckets lengthwise thereof and transversely of the periphery of the wheel.

7. In a machine for boxing tooth picks. a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of troughshaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyor, guards at each side of the buckets independent thereoi, cover guards extending from said side guardscircumferentially inward toward each other and covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to nearly the lowest point in the rotation of the conveyer, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline and through which the tooth picks pass before reaching the said rotary wheel conveyer. and a chute through which the picks pass from said cylinder to said wheel conveyer.

S. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of trough shaped buckets, means for rotating said conveyer, guards at each side of the buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from said side guards circumterentially inward toward each other and covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to nearly the lowest point in the rotation of said conveyer, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline and through which the tooth picks pass before reaching the said rotary wheel conveyer, a chute through which the picks pass from said cylinder to said wheel conveyer and a-feed chute into which the picks drop from the buckets after they have rotated past the cover guards.

9. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline through which the tooth picks pass before reaching said wheel conveyer, said cylinder being journaled at each end, means for rotating said cylinder and anti-friction bearings which support said cylinder intermediate its ends.

10. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel. conveyer, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline through which the tooth picks pass before reaching said wheel conveyer, said cylinder being journaled at each end, means for rotating said cylinder, said cylinder being formed with a' plurality of circumferential ribs intermediate its ends and grooved antifriction wheels which engage said ribs, said anti-friction wheels being mounted on fixed supports.

11, In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer having upon its periphery a series of troughshaped buckets, means fol-rotating said conveyer, guards at each side of the,buckets independent thereof, cover guards extending from said side guards circumferentially inward toward each other and covering the tops of said buckets at each end thereof, said covers extending from near the highest point in the rotation of said conveyer to nearly the lowest point in the rotation of the conveyer, said buckets being V-shaped in cross section and having the rear wall substantially radial to the axis of the wheel on which the buckets are mounted and having the forward wall inclined to the radius of said wheel.

12. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary wheel conveyer, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline through which the tooth picks pass before reaching said wheel con- 8Q veyer, said cylinder having its exit end provided with a cover through which there is an aperture for the passage of the tooth picks and an adjustable valve whereby the size of the passage through said aperture may be varied.

13. In a machine for boxing tooth picks, a rotary cylinder mounted at an incline through which the tooth picks pass, an inlet chute whereby the tooth picks are fed into said cylinder at one end, a cover for the other end of said cylinder provided with an aperture through which the tooth picks are discharged from said cylinder and an adjustable valve which partially closes said aperture whereby the size of the passage through said aperture may be varied.

In testimony whereof we ence of two witnesses.

afiix our signatures, in pres- 

